


Lullaby

by Biket



Series: SemiShira Week 2020 [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, SemiShira Week, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:28:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27206641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Biket/pseuds/Biket
Summary: Something's wrong.Semi just came back home after an exhausting day and is expecting to see Shirabu waiting for him in the living room but instead the apartment is silent. Except for a few sniffles the musician can hear through the bedroom door.
Relationships: Semi Eita/Shirabu Kenjirou
Series: SemiShira Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1985608
Kudos: 107
Collections: Semishira Week 2020





	Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> SemiShira week day 2 - Hurt/Comfort!  
> This one is sad, I'm sorry ;;
> 
> cw: brief mention of death

"I'm home!"

Closing the door behind him, Semi took off his shoes and put his guitar down. He frowned when he didn't get a response after five minutes but told himself his boyfriend might be busy studying, as he always was. He probably didn't hear him, too engulfed in his textbooks. It was a common occurrence after all, especially since he had started his internship a few months ago and had been forced to drastically change his schedule to make it work with his new priorities. 

When Semi walked towards their shared bedroom, he couldn't help the small smile creeping at the corner of his lips. The door was closed, a sign that Shirabu didn’t want to be bothered at the moment. Semi just hoped it wouldn't be too long, knowing damn well that Shirabu sometimes tended to overwork himself for hours on end. 

Since his boyfriend wasn't known for his talent in self-care and also because he'd been hungry for a couple of hours now, Semi decided it was time to make something edible. He wasn't the greatest cook out there but fortunately for him, they still had a few leftovers of shirasu and if he made rice, he could have enough for the both of them to be satiated. Besides, if they ever got hungry during the night, they'd just have to make something for themselves, it wasn't that hard. Maybe that was why they still had leftovers. They really should stop making food at three in the morning.

It took him no more than half an hour to make something decent while singing his own songs like a madman, pretending to be on stage with a spatula-mic in his hand. Eventually, he came back to the closed door and knocked with his elbow, his hands busy with the plates he's carrying. He frowned when he didn't hear anything once again. Usually, Shirabu worked in complete silence, it almost drove Semi mad each time they were doing something in the same room since he needed to have some background noises to focus on whatever song he was trying to write. Was Shirabu asleep? That'd be unlikely.

"Kenjirou?" he called. 

Still no answer. Frowning, Semi put the plates aside on a piece of furniture and came closer to the door, trying to hear something. He was almost convinced Shirabu was indeed asleep when a sniffle came through. Immediately, Semi barged in with no absolutely no subtlety. He didn’t care one bit about the noise the door made when it hit the wall or about the little yelp Shirabu made, startled. 

He couldn’t even see him. His boyfriend was under the covers, probably curling up on himself, and with each sob and sniffle Semi could hear, his heart broke. How long had he been crying? Was he already sobbing when he came home? Did he have to hear him sing in the kitchen while being all alone in there? Semi always knew Shirabu didn't like being open with his feelings and even less being vulnerable in front of anyone, especially him. He didn't understand it and even though he tried to give him space when it was necessary, when Shirabu asked him to, Semi couldn't bring himself to just ignore this, close the door and go wait in the living room. He couldn't.

Instead, he climbed on the bed, sat next to Shirabu, and tried to put the covers aside. The med student tried to fight it at first, no doubt willing to hide his face and pretend Semi wasn't even there but the musician wouldn't let him. He smacked Shirabu's hand away when the man tried to get away from him and pulled him closer, making his head fall into his lap. When Shirabu stopped trying to get away, Semi started running his hand through his hair in an attempt to calm him down as he was still crying. 

"What happened?" Semi asked, his voice gentle. 

The two words only made Shirabu cry harder and cling to Semi even more. The singer tried not to panic at that, kissing Shirabu's forehead then hair over and over again to give him a bit of comfort. He knew it was probably useless, he _felt_ useless. But it was better than doing nothing and waiting for whatever it was to go away.

It was the first time he saw Shirabu cry like that, the first time he saw him so devastated, so broken. It was scary. He'd always known him as a sarcastic perfectionist, always overworking himself, never showing any kind of weaknesses. The only time he saw him cry was in high school back when they lost against Karasuno in the Spring Interhigh Qualifiers. But it was different. This time it wasn't the effects of adrenaline wearing off, it wasn't disappointment or even anger.

This time, it felt like despair.

"It's Seika."

Seika. Semi frowned. He knew the name, knew the face attached to it. Knew what the little girl meant to Shirabu. She'd been his first patient when he started his internship, the first child he ever had to take care of as a responsible adult and aspiring doctor. A brave little girl fighting cancer at the age of eight. Semi had met her a few times, when he came to see Shirabu during his rare breaks or when he came to sing and play guitar for the sick children for an hour or two. Seika was always here. Always listening and watching with a smile on her face, asking questions, wanting to play guitar too even though she didn't know anything about music or how to play instruments. 

She was one of those kids who could be hopeful and bright even in the darkest times, the kind of child who could bring a smile on everyone's face, a child who would still laugh and chatter happily after getting bad news from her last exams. Semi had grown to love her during the few times he had the chance to see her and he knew Shirabu was deeply attached to her since she was the patient he spent the most time with. Hearing him say her name in such a broken way was wrong, so very wrong it was enough for Semi to freeze. 

He tried to convince himself the reason why Shirabu was crying while mentioning the girl they both grew to love so much was because she was cancer-free and would be out of the hospital in no time, because he was sad yet happy to see her leave. But those weren't sobs of joy and the words Shirabu uttered after that confirmed his fears.

"She... She passed away this morning."

Semi closed his eyes to prevent the tears from falling out. He couldn't cry. Not with Shirabu sobbing on his lap, his voice hoarse from all the crying. He had to be there for him even if he had no idea what to do at the moment. What do you even say in that kind of situation? He knew no words would erase the sadness. He couldn't say he was sorry because even if he truly was, what good would it do? All he could think about was how Shirabu had to go through the entire day with this burden, this awful knowledge, and he wasn't there, he wasn't at his side to support him.

Leaning forward, he gave him a few kisses while whispering sweet things in his ear, words that didn't make sense but were meant to be comforting. His hand was still playing with Shirabu's hair and after some time, the med student stopped crying, probably too tired to even do that anymore. Instead, he moved closer to Semi and grabbed his other hand, interlacing their fingers.

"Can you... Can you sing for me? Please?" he asked quietly.

Semi gave him a little smile and nodded. Of course he could sing for him. He did it often. Whether it was when he was on stage or in their apartment, Semi would always sing for Shirabu. Sometimes, they'd even dance in the living room when they couldn't sleep, other times Semi would just sing while Shirabu would be drumming his fingers on the nearest piece of furniture. And for some rare times, Semi would sing his boyfriend to sleep. 

"Darling close your weary eyes, everything will be fine," he started humming. It was an old lullaby his mom used to sing from time to time whenever he felt sad about silly things when he was still a kid. It's been a long time since he heard it or even sang it himself but he still knew it by heart like the words had been engraved in his head. 

Of course, he knew everything wouldn’t be fine just like that, and he kind of despised the lyrics at the moment, but he didn’t have anything better to offer. He just hoped the calming song would appease Shirabu’s mind enough for him to fall asleep. 

"Let the breeze wipe away your tears.”

Semi briefly looked up at the ceiling, trying not to cry. He knew he would eventually, there was no stopping that. His boyfriend was heartbroken in his arms and one of the brightest stars of this world had passed away this morning. How could he not cry? How could his voice not break?

"There is no need to cry." He finished the song as tears were quietly rolling down his cheeks. Shirabu had fallen asleep under his touch and was still clinging to Semi as if he was scared to lose him too. Shifting to be in a more comfortable position, the singer put an arm around his boyfriend's waist nestled his nose in his hair. 

Tomorrow morning, Shirabu would most likely act like nothing ever happened but Semi wouldn’t let him. Tomorrow morning, Semi will wake up before his stubborn boyfriend, bring him breakfast in bed and be there for him as long as he would need him. And maybe they’ll cry and hurt some more but at least, they’ll be together.

**Author's Note:**

> The song Semi is singing is [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpOuAW2Vypc) if you want to listen to it


End file.
